Abstract Candida albicans is a commensal fungal pathogen that grows in yeast and hyphal forms in the human gut. C. albicans causes mucosal and cutaneous diseases that can result in significant mortality following systematic infections and it also exhibits drug resistance. Zebrafish have been an excellent model to investigate C. albicans infections because of their transparency and the availability of many transgenic lines. However, there is a limitation in using zebrafish as a model because the fish embryos cannot survive at 37°C therefore it is not suitable for studying Candida infections at physiological relevant human body temperature. In this thesis, the normal embryonic development of Arabian killifish (A. dispar) is investigated, revealing that embryogenesis was divided into 32 stages based on diagnostic patterns of development. A. dispar can also found to tolerate a wide range of temperatures and salinities. This suggests that A. dispar could be developed as a novel model to investigate host-pathogen interactions. The tolerance of A. dispar to high temperatures may in part be attributable to brown pigment cells with a highly fluorescent character that may have developed to allow the fish to adapt to live within extreme environmental conditions with strong sunlight and a wide range of temperatures (Chapter 3). In terms of Candida infections, this study examined A. dispar as a model to test C. albicans pathogenicity. The survival of A. dispar embryos following Candida infection showed a dose dependent relationship. We also found that A. dispar can survive longer than zebrafish after infection. Furthermore, C. albicans cells were observed to undergo a transition from yeast to hyphae at 37°C. An investigation of the ability of mutant strains of C. albicans with defects in cell wall mannosylation revealed a significant impact on virulence, host mortality, and the fishes’ immune response. The present study found that although the deletion of O- and N-mannan from the cell wall of C. albicans, affected fungal burden (attenuation), and the survival of the infected embryos per se was significantly decreased in the infections of the mutant strains compared to the WT. This data confirms the importance of the mannosylation state of the cell wall in triggering an immune recognition event (Chapter 4). A. dispar is also shown to be suitable for studying the effectiveness of 3 | P a g e antifungals. Fluconazole treatment of infected embryos and eggs promoted greater rates of survival at high doses, alongside a significant reduction of C. albicans CFUs (Chapter 4). When looking at the Candida-host interaction, we directly observed phagocytosed yeast cells within macrophages. Various detection methods were used to follow macrophages and neutrophils including Western blotting, immunostaining and histological staining (Sudan black and FITC-tyramide) allowing the monitoring of the time course of the immune cells. A biphasic response of macrophages was detected by L-plastin Western blotting, suggesting activation of two different type of macrophage: activated macrophage (M1) and alternative macrophage (M2). We also assayed reactive oxygen species (ROS) within infected embryos using a fluorescent probe (H2DCFDA), revealing the accumulation of the fluorescent probe at the sites of infection. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the oxidative and immune response using the H2DCFDA and qPCR were also accomplished within A. dispar embryos after infection with both the WT and mutant strains of Candida albicans (WT, pmr1∆, mnt1-mnt2∆, and och1∆). The results confirmed that the mutant strains did not activate a host oxidative stress response nor immune cell accumulation when compared to WT, suggesting that the immune response is less activated against these mutants. Finally, a new transgenic line of A. dispar fish was developed using Betaactin-DsR-LoxP-GFP. The new transgenic A. dispar is suggested to be an ideal model for real time observation of host-pathogen interactions and for investigation of molecular functions of the immune response. Overall these results improve our understanding of the use of a new transparent fish model to study fungal pathogenesis and demonstrates the potential advantages of using this species in future studies of bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens at a physiologically relevant temperature for human infection. Such a model could lead us to investigate in more depth the key interactions between pathogens and their host and permit the screening and development of new antifungal therapies (that might target the pathogens directly or target the host immune system). View full metadata
Terrorism is a global phenomenon that engulfs most regions of the world to varying degrees. Media outlets are aware of the many incidents of violence and terrorism that have increased in recent times. The differences between the size of the phenomenon in different societies are the causes and severity of the phenomenon. On the role of local satellite channels in shaping the knowledge and trends of the Iraqi public towards the events of terrorism, in light of the assumptions of reliance on the media. The importance of this study is that it assesses the role of local satellite channels in the formation of knowledge and trends The study seeks to know the extent of exposure of the Iraqi public to local satellite channels, and to reveal the e
... Show MoreBackground: The gene encoding a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain 33 (ADAM33) is known to be associated with asthma in different ethnic groups. In Iraq, among the Arab ethnic background, this association has not yet been highlighted. Methods: One hundred and ninety-two asthmatics were examined; 118 males and 74 females (mean age 38.23 ± 9.13 years). The control group was 183; 110 males and the rest were females. The SNP of rs2280091 A/G (T1) was studied here to determine adam33 genotyping status using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP). The level of total IgE was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Significant differences (p = 0.004) in the frequencies of
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Abstract:
Recently, there is a widespread attention about the service at the level of each of the research and academic studies, and at the organizational level as well. The subject of orientation towards the service aspect is starting to be of this attention being of the modern subjects, relatively, which appeared at the end of the last century, as well as the link of this subject with the relationship between the organization and its customers, and how to provide high quality services to get their satisfaction. Thus, the specialists from researchers were interested in this field to develop an appropriate scale to measure the organizational orientation toward service, and it was the most prominen
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The internal audit is considered the safety valve for senior management in all institutions. It aims to protect property, and raise the efficiency and effectiveness of the administrative performance, by following up on compliance with laws and instructions and the application of regulations in a way that increases the administrative performance of the department. The internal audit is possible to determine Weaknesses or imbalances in the administrative performance. To achieve this goal, an analytical descriptive methodology was adopted. The Baghdad Health Department / Al-Rosana was considered as society for this s
... Show MoreThis research seeks the effects of dubbed Turkish TV series on Iraqi audiences. The chosen sample is about 600 Iraqi students at Baghdad and al-Anbar Universities. This study consists of four sections: section one deals with the theoretical framework of the study. Section two studies the dubbed Turkish TV series. The third section explores the role of mass media in forming tendencies, and the last section seeks the field study by analyzing the tendencies if Iraqi viewers of these series.
The goal of this study is to know the role these series played in affecting the behavior and attitudes of Iraqi people and how it can change their morals.
The research ends with the number of results like the negative effect of these series on the
The research included five sections containing the first section on the introduction o research and its importance and was addressed to the importance of the game of gymnastic and skilled parallel bars effectiveness and the importance of biochemical variables, either the research problem that there is a difference in learning this skill and difficulty in learning may be one of the most important reasons are falling and injury Has a negative impact on the performance and lack of sense of movement of is one of the obstacles in the completion of the skill and the goal of research to design a device that helps in the development of biochemical changes to skill of rear vault dismount with one-half twist on parallel bars in gymnastics . And the n
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This Research aims for harnessing critical and innovative thinking approaches besides innovative problem solving tools in pursuing continual quality improvement initiatives for the benefit of achieving operations results effectively in water treatment plants in Baghdad Water Authority. Case study has been used in fulfilling this research in the sadr city water treatment plant, which was chosen as a study sample as it facilitates describing and analyzing its current operational situation, collecting and analyzing its own data, in order to get its own desired improvement opportunity be done. Many statistical means and visual thinking promoting methods has been used to fulfill research task.
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The research aimed at measuring the compatibility of Big date with the organizational Ambidexterity dimensions of the Asia cell Mobile telecommunications company in Iraq in order to determine the possibility of adoption of Big data Triple as a approach to achieve organizational Ambidexterity.
The study adopted the descriptive analytical approach to collect and analyze the data collected by the questionnaire tool developed on the Likert scale After a comprehensive review of the literature related to the two basic study dimensions, the data has been subjected to many statistical treatments in accordance with res
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